Locomotive



July 30, 1935. w. ANDERSON Er AL 2,009,459

'LOGOMOTIVE Filed Oct. 26, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l y 1935- R. w. ANDERSON ET AL. 2,009,469

LQCOMOTIVE Filed Oct. 26, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I J0 I 25 I 22 I' il ml M: MN I! my Patented July 30, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs LOCOMOTIVE Ralph W. Anderson, Wauwatosa, Wis., and

' Harry E. Riccius, Miles City, Mont.

Application October 26, 1933,

(Cl. 2s0 e"1 6 Claims.

,Such cinders, if permitted to escape from the stack while in a state of combustion or at high temperature, become the cause of serious fires along the track. When sufficiently reduced in size they very quickly cool to such an extent that they are no longer sources of trouble.

A more detailed statement of the objects of the invention, and a full explanation of its mode of operation, are given in the following description.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a detail vertical central longitudinal section of the front end of the body of the locomotive;

Fig. 2 is a detail transverse vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; 7

Figs. 4 and 5 are views in perspective of elements of the spark arrester.

The front end portion of a locomotive is represented at H). The forward flue sheet is shown at II. The front ends of boiler tubes are indicated at l2, and are connected with a superheater, a portion of which is shown at I3. At l4, l5, are indicated steam pipes which lead to the engine cylinders, and at I6 the exhaust nozzle leading from such cylinders and discharging vertically through the smoke box 18 of the locomotive into the open end of the smoke stack H, which projects through the top of the locomotive body.

A bafile plate l9 extends across the body 10 of the locomotive to the rear of the smoke stack, and defines the rear end of the smoke box [8. This bafile plate terminates some distance from the bottom of the body It], as shown on a level with the upper end of the exhaust nozzle 16. A table plate extends forwardly from the lower end of the baflie plate l9 over and beyond the nozzle l6, and is apertured in line with the throat thereof. This table reaches from side to side of the body In and is imperforate except as just explained. At the forward end of the plate 20 there is a for- Serial No. 695,281

wardly and downwardly inclined deflector plate 2!. The line of draftytherefore, from the iiue sheet ii to the smoke box i8 is under the table plate Eli and plate 2i, the smoke being deflected downwardly as it enters the smoke box proper.

The spark arrester comprises an assembly of a plurality of flat circular plates, as 22, 23, 24, arranged in vertical order, secured together by means of through bolts and spaced apart by pipe spacers 25, threaded upon these bolts.

These plates are as many in number as may be desired, and are centrally apertured. This assembly is interposed between the lower end of the smoke stack Hand the tableplate 2!! by which it is supported, a centrally placed annular standard 21 being interposed between the plate 28 and. the bottom plate of the spark'arrester assembly.

The top and bottom plates of'the arrester ma'y be secured to the petticoat of the spark arrester and to the standard 21', and the latter to the plate 29 by any suitable means. The apertures of. the several plates of the spark arrester assembly are of increasing diameter from bottom to top, that of the lower plate being substantially of the diameter of the throat of the nozzle l6, and that of the top plate being substantially of the diameter of the smoke stack l l.

Interposed between adjacent plates of the spark arrester assembly are a series of curved vanes, as 28, 29, extending inwardly from the margins of the plates approximately to the central apertures thereof. As shown, these vanes are semicircular in form. This particular form is not of vital importance, and they may be broadly described as open curves. Neither is the number of vanes between each pair of plates of the essence of the invention. They are preferably uniformly spaced circumferentially, and are attached to at least one of the plates with which they are associated; as shown, they are cast integral with the plate from which they rise. The vanes may all be curved in the same direction, as indicated in Fig. 1, or those of different sections may be oppositely curved, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The spark arrester constructed as described has the form of a circular body horizontally separated into a plurality of flue passages which are open to the smoke box throughout the entire cir-.

cumference of the body, and are divided into a plurality of spiral flue passages leading to the central apertures in the plates.

Smoke issuing from the usual openings in the flue sheet ll passes forwardly under the plates 20, 2|, and fills the entire chamber of the smoke box. The powerful draft induced by the column of exhaust steam draws the smoke into the flue passages of the spark arrester from all radial directions. This suction will cause the smoke and the cinders carried by it to impinge forcibly upon the outer surfaces of the curved vanes. Due to this initial impact, to their frictional contact with the surfaces of the vanes, and to the abrasive action due to their violent contact with each other, the cinders are reduced to such small sizes that they quickly lose their high and dangerous temperatures and cease to be fire hazards.

The violent attrition action on the cinders thus secured is obtained without materially reducing the suction action in the fire-box due to the passage of exhaust steam through the smoke-box, as the inrush toward the steam column of the cinderladen vapors within the smoke-box is not appreciably impeded by any battles. The violent agitation of the solid particles and their reduction by impact and friction are secured, but the freedom of movement of the vapors is not materially impeded, and consequently the minus pressure developed in the smoke-box is as great as if the spark arrester were not present.

The invention is not limited in its scope to the specific form of construction disclosed. Changes in the particular form and number of curved vanes may be found desirable according to the quality or character of the fuel employed.

We claim as our invention:

1. A spark arrester for locomotives comprising a steam nozzle and a smoke stack in alignment and spaced apart, the stack being of greater diameter than the nozzle, a set of horizontal centrally apertured plates between the nozzle and stack, the apertures of the lower and upper plates being approximately of the same diameter as the nozzle and stack, respectively, and the apertures of the intervening plates being of gradually increasing diameter from the lowestto the highest, and a plurality of vertical curved vanes interposed between adjacent plates.

2. A spark arrester for locomotives, comprising a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontal, concentric, annular plates, curved vanes uniting adjacent plates and extending outwardly from the margins of their apertures, the vanes being correspondingly curved and the spaces between their outer ends being unobstructed.

3. A spark arrester for locomotives, comprising a plurality of vertically spaced, horizontal, concentric, annular plates, vanes uniting adjacent plates and extending outwardly from the margins of their apertures, the vanes being correspondingly bowed and of approximately uniform length, the spaces between their outer ends being unobstructed.

4. A spark arrester for locomotives, comprising a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal, concentric, annular plates, a plurality of vanes joining adjacent plates, such vanes being substantially in the form of a segment of a circle, and extending inwardly from the margins of the plates, partially encircling the plate apertures, and terminating adjacent to the margins thereof.

5. A spark arrester for locomotives, comprising a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal, concentric, annular plates, a plurality of vanes joining adjacent plates, such vanes being substantially in the form of the segment of a circle, and extending, inwardly from the margins of the plates, partially encircling the plate apertures, and terminating adjacent to the margins thereof, the spaces between the outer ends of the vanes being unobstructed.

6. A locomotive, having a smoke box, a smoke stack leading upwardly from the box, and an exhaust nozzledischarging upwardly into the box and in line with the stack, and a spark arrester comprising a pair of horizontal, concentric, annular plates attached respectively to the stack and nozzle, and a series of intermediate, relatively spaced, annular plates, intermediate of the firstnamed plates, a series of uniformly curved vanes located between each pair of plates and extending from the margin thereof approximately to the margins of their apertures, and partially encircling such apertures, the spacings between the plates being otherwise unoccupied.

RALPH W. ANDERSON. HARRY E. RICCIUS. 

